Meditations on the Rosary: The Descent of the Holy Spirit

At Pentecost, the Old Testament spring harvest festival characterized by offerings to God in the direction of the four winds, the Church is overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit coming in wind and fire. The disciples (including Mary, who was right there in the thick of it) receive the power of the Holy Spirit and St. Peter, preaching his first sermon to the astonished crowd in Jerusalem, declares of Jesus, "Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you see and hear" (Acts 2:33).

It's worth noting that the "right hand" is the "good" hand in antiquity. It's the hand that pours out blessing, the hand that holds the sceptre, the hand that works, acts, fights. The hand is the locus of action. We do not theorize with our hands, we do things. Jesus, seated at the right hand of the Father, does things. And He empowers us to do things too — by His Spirit. So when Peter appeals to the crowd at Pentecost he doesn't tell them God has poured out a concept or an idea. He has poured out "that which you see and hear." The Catholic Faith is still the same today. To be sure, we walk by faith and not by sight. But the fruit of our faith is still visible in the incarnate signs and acts of love we bear to the world. All these are poured out on us from Jesus, at the right hand of God.

Comments

Thank you Mark, for once again eloquently expressing the incarnate reality of our faith, that it is living, breathing and alive and well and must be exercised just as our muscles in our body must be if we wish to strengthen them… and this doesn’t happen by just sitting on the couch. It takes ACTION.

Posted by Eric on Monday, Jul 16, 2012 9:16 PM (EST):

Seems to me that no part of the body is supposed to be or do evil. So there is a distinction that needs to be made that it is one thing to use ones hands and another to be at ones hands.

Also it seems to me that there is significance to the fact that the wind that was present was unable to extinguish the flames. I wonder if the fact that they were speaking in different languages is a throwback to Babel, and the singular tounge is symbolic to the conquering of sin.

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About Mark Shea

Mark P. Shea is a popular Catholic writer and speaker. The author of numerous books, his most recent work is The Work of Mercy (Servant) and The Heart of Catholic Prayer (Our Sunday Visitor). Mark contributes numerous articles to many magazines, including his popular column “Connecting the Dots” for the National Catholic Register. Mark is known nationally for his one minute “Words of Encouragement” on Catholic radio. He also maintains the Catholic and Enjoying It blog. He lives in Washington state with his wife, Janet, and their four sons.